The clocks went back one hour last night, but despite the fact we get an extra hour of sleeping, one of us wakes up at 5am no matter what. Actually that turns out to be a good thing since the internet works great that early.
The rocking and rolling kept up through the evening, letting us know that we are crossing the Tasman Sea. We will have three days to make the trip to Sydney. During breakfast, we were watching the white caps in the distance when one of our buddies noticed something different about the waves. Guess what we all saw? Whales spouting…at least three of them. The ship was going rather fast, so by the time they were pointed out, we were well past them. Of course, we looked for more sightings for the rest of the day, but never saw any more. Now we wonder if these whales are humpbacks or southern right whales?
Most of our day was spent working on yesterday's photos. We did take a couple of breaks to take a walk outside, but the temperatures have dropped, and the wind just about cut through the warmest jacket or sweatshirt we have. The Tasman Sea is notorious for being treacherous, rough, and extremely windy. On the other hand, we have done this crossing many times when the weather was perfect. Captain Friso came on the speakers and announced for everyone to be careful walking inside and outside the ship.
To keep the guests busy, there was a lecture on shore excursions for the upcoming Australian ports. A much more fun activity was "Let Them Eat Cake", which was a dessert extravaganza held in the Lido at 3pm. Sounded as if they did this and replaced the usual everyday dining room tea time. The ship's Classic Duo performed live for the dessert hour. We had forgotten to go, but we did see photos from Greg and Heo at dinner tonight. One thing that was missing this evening was a show in the Mainstage. It was dark tonight, as it is twice a week now.
Another rare sighting for us was seeing an albatross flying at a distance alongside the ship. These birds are commonly seen in the Southern Hemisphere. To be exact, the bird we spotted was a young wandering albatross. The reason we know it was young was because the upper colors were mottled brown. It takes seven years to develop adult plumage. These giants can live up to 42 years, and spend most of their time at sea. The female will lay one egg every two years, and both parents rear the chick. They make mud and vegetation nests on bare ground on hillsides. The chick will stay in that nest for 10 months until the bird launches itself off of the cliff. Eventually they can reach 25 pounds and measure 4 ½ feet from beak to tail. Their wingspan is an impressive 11 feet. Their style of flying is called dynamic soaring and allows them to fly immense distances. They can rise and fall with ease and little effort. And it is considered good luck to have them follow the ship. We searched for more birds, but only saw one. Perhaps the next two days will produce more sightings.
Lunch was part dining room menu and part room service menu. We shared a gouda burger, a wedge salad, chicken soup (great on a cool day), and a few macadamia nut cookies. We asked for some red apples, but were lucky to get one green apple and three very green pears. Apparently, they have run out of fresh apples. It is the same story with the fresh berries. They are about all gone. We figure they ordered a smaller quantity in Auckland, but will re-supply in Sydney where the costs may be less. Just a guess.
Dinner had some strange-named entrees, some of which we needed further explanation from our waiter. Katzu described a breaded pork steak, served with a sticky rice. More Asian than the usual schnitzel. Fish and chips was a recognizable entrée, while one of us had the everyday salmon, which looked way better. What is missing is the every day available lasagna. It does appear every now and then, but not every night. The fresh fruit plate continues to be tasty, but the sweet desserts of cake and ice cream are good too. The ship had so much movement, we all watched out the aft windows as the full moon went up and down like a yoyo. Of course, it wasn't the moon moving, but the ship. Guess we are all good sailors and none of us ever gets seasick.
Bill & Mary Ann
